Well, this could be considered a pre-review since officially the CD called With Teeth, hasn’t come out yet. My brother, who knows that I’m a huge NIN fan, turned me onto a site where you can download the whole album. So I downloaded it and proceded to burn it to a CD. I know, I know, very taboo and I can get fined and such, but I just couldn’t resist the temptation. Needless to say, the site has been shut down. I think actually it was shut down the same day I downloaded the album. Let the review begin:

Anyone who has been following Trent Reznor’s progression as an artist and likes it (which I do) will not be disappointed with this new album. He has been slowly infusing non-electronically produced music into his albums. Basically, I mean he’s been using real drums and electric guitar more and more in his albums and not so dependent on drum machines and electronically produced tunes. Not to say he has stopped using electronics completely-because he hasn’t. His music is now a more cohesive amalgamation of both musical sounds. He actually uses Dave Grohl’s (of Foo-Fighters Fame) drumming talents, on one of his songs.

What I like to see or hear in bands or musicians is progression. I don’t like to hear another song from a band that almost sounds exactly like their last hit. Trent Reznor has definitely grown as a musician. His music still has its roots in industrial–electronic but now he has produced a new offshoot that is unique and original to himself. All the songs on the album are very different from each other. On one song he sings the chorus but most of the song is spoken instead of sung which makes the song stand out from the rest of the album. You find yourself engrossed in the song trying to listen carefully to his words. On another song you hear Dave Grohl’s very fast, skilled drumming starting the song and then Trent’s familiar yell pierces the rhythmic drum that continues throughout the song.

The whole CD is a good mixture of heavy electronic hard beats to ambient piano playing to rock and roll using live drums and guitar. Overall, a very diverse album that keeps you engaged and interested throughout. With Teeth will make it the fifth album NIN has put out, if you don’t count all the remix albums that have come out in between albums. The new album comes out May 3, 2005. I highly recommend this album and even if you’re not a NIN fan you should take a listen. You just might be surprised.

glad to hear trent reznor is still making records. i stopped listening in the mid-90's and rarely return. his pretty hate machine and specifically "something i can never have" got me through a rather thorny breakup. not sure that it made me feel much better, but it definitely articulated what i was thinking.

I'm not sure I'd know a NIN song if it came up on a cd player or radio I was listening to, but it may be time to check them out. My taste in music is diverse -- Hot Snakes, the Carpenters and Atmosphere (rap duo from Minneapolis, my hometown) are in current rotation but there's always room for more.